Economic Impact of the Midwest Drought of 2012

The weather has an impact on the procurement of grains and makes it very volatile.  In 1990 a poor harvest contributed to low inventories and sales volume.   Willis

Despite the flushed predictions of prosperity that had lured new settlers to the plains, the reality was more difficult. The farmers claimed that they did not have enough land, money, and transportation (Doc C). The farmers went into in a never ending cycle if they did not have a good harvest. As Booker Washington explains the farmers had no money so they had to borrow money from the banks which charged 12 to 30 percent interest. The interest the farmers were hit with was nearly impossible to repay so they had to mortgage everything and if the mortgage wasn’t paid the land was foreclosure which led the yeomen to become tenant farmers (Doc B). With periods of drought growing good crops was hard. Leading Economic Sectors shows how the farmers predicament of not being able to make a very

Due to the decline of the water levels in Lake mead and Colorado River, this has a huge impact on the the southwest of Arizona. This hugely impacts the agricultural industries and ranchings because they face drought, scouring heat and water shortages which decreases their farms yields and productivity. Because Arizona farmers are dependent on irrigation for vegetation, with a water crisis they would have feed shortages which would cause them to sell their farms with weaker disaster relief support.

This article written in the Texas Agriculture, a magazine published by the Texas Farm Bureau, is about all the factors impacting farmers that effect their income. Over the past couple years, a combination of things has caused the average Texas farmers income to drop. The primary audience for this article is the farmers in Texas as they are experiencing these issues first hand. The secondary audience would be consumers who have noticed price fluctuations in products at the store and are wondering the reason.

In the past, Georgia has experienced several droughts that impacted Georgia economically and politically. Because of this, states and counties downstream have been harmed

The agriculture industry is not only the largest industry within our state, but also within our nation. However, in recent years it has also been one of the most heavily criticized. This has led to a ‘brain drain’ in rural America as more people decide to leave our industry and their family farms.

While the Midwest may be “the breadbasket of the United States,” the Central Valley of California is the entire rest of the Thanksgiving meal on the table for the country. With its fertile soil, Mediterranean climate, and expansive flat land, the Central Valley produces more than 250 different crops that produce more than $20 billion annually, meaning it provides over half the produce grown in the United States. Recent droughts, recession, and growing urbanization in California have changed the conversation around farming practices and the large role family farms still play in the state. Popular opinions circulating the urban areas were calling into question the sacrifices farms were making throughout the drought, believing they got a

The agriculture industry lost around 1.7 billion dollars, due to not having the proper water allocations for the fields. On the west wide of the valley, half of their 600,000 acres of farmland went fallow, because they didn’t have enough water to farm them. And about 14,500 farm workers in the Central Valley lost their jobs. Without the proper water allocations, farmers will have to continue to pump ground water at extremely high costs, which will force people out of the industry and raise the price of the products produced by the those who can stay in. The impact of the fight over water ripples far beyond those just in agriculture, it affects all of

The early 1900’s was a time of turmoil for farmers in the U.S especially farmers in the Great Plains region. When World War I ended, farmers began to over produce crops so they could sell them at a low price. With low prices at an all time low all the citizens wanted crops which helped farmers make a large profit. Of the ninety-seven acres, almost thirty-two million acres were being cultivated. As the farmers ran out of space to farm, caring only about profit, they started plowing grasslands that were not made for planting. As time went on, year after year farmers kept plowing and due to the lack of rainfall soil began to lose its fertility. With infertile soil and dry land, the wheat crops began to die and eventually started to blow away with the winds. During the 1930's, the Great Plains was plagued with a drought, a long period of dryness, which brought demise to many of the farmers in the region. The drought started in the

During the 1910’s and 20’s the plains were unusually wet and seen as the ideal place for farming. The plains had great top soil at one point, but after the World War I cattle men over populated the prairies with cattle taking away the grass that once held the soil in place.The price of agriculture went down during the great depression, to make up for the money loss farmers needed to sell more crops. Wheat demand went through the

“Economists at the University of California, Davis said that agriculture, once a $44 billion annual business in California, will suffer a financial hit of $2.2 billion due to revenue losses and higher water costs” (Associated Press, 2014). Many farmers are going out of business because the production costs have increased with rising inflation, while revenue has decreased. Others have reduced their farmland plantations which decreases the crop production. Some of the affected crops include oranges, pistachios and rice. One example of how this affects the nation is the California almonds. “California [is] the source of eighty percent of the world’s almonds” (Bloomberg, 2014). This year farmers had to come up with new tactics to rescue the nut from drought “by diverting the water used for vegetables and drilling more water wells to keep the trees hydrated” (Bloomberg, 2014). Farmers are not the only group of workers affected by the drought.

In the summer of August 7, 1931, farmers have been preparing for this year’s crops to be planted. Although there has been a severe drought occurring and the Great Depression not far behind, farmers continue to plow and plant, hoping for golden rows of wheat to sell. Little did they know that all of this over plowing and drought would lead to a disaster that will sweep through the southern plains for about eight harsh years. The dust bowl or the dirty thirties affected states such as Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arkansas. The people that had lived there were not prepare for what was about to come. High winds caused dust to blow in clouds, creating huge storms that were unavoidable.

Due to the shut off many farmers did not get the rationing of water they need to plant, so many fields will sit idle this fall and spring. California produces 53% of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. California is also the leading food producer to the world. Some people do not even know California is facing a water crisis, and more of them did not know California is the Nation’s food producer. In a recent survey 76% knew of the water crisis; however, only 56% of them knew that California is the leading food producer. With many of the state’s fields sitting idle this fall and spring it is going to cause the produce prices to increase. It also causes the loss of thousands of jobs. An outraged woman spoke out about the

Looking at all stakeholders in the case of drought in California versus almond, we have to collect information from many sources. From one source from the side of the almond’s farmers, I understand that the water usage restriction caused them a big loss. We also have to remember that almond farming creates lots of jobs. . we should see the big picture such as how the international industries involved in this situation. For example, The chocolate industry such Lindt, Nestle, Mars, Hersey and others depend their raw material such as almond. If we don’t take into account the importance almond production in the future, we will risk lots of lost jobs, and also loss of the internationally well-known high quality almond of California, which is the

As discusses above, drought causes the shortage of plants and animals, which provide food for human beings. Therefore, the shortage of food causes problems for living.